R E V I E W S O F B O O K S

The Irrepressible Conflict, 1850—1865 (A History of American Life, vol. 7) . By ARTHUR CHARLES COLE, professor of history,

Western Reserve University. (New York, The Macmillan Company, 1934. xv, 468 p. Illustrations. $4.00.)

In The Irrepressible Conflict Professor Cole has produced another of those volumes of American Life which attempt to depict the life of a people in its multifarious aspects without recourse to " history " as it has so long been viewed. Needless to remark, as has been said in most of the reviews of the volumes which have previously appeared, this is a difficult task. No one can appreciate " history," the recon­struction of the past, by reading alone; he must bring a generous measure of imagination to the task and fill in from his own experience the gaps necessarily left in any narrative. Without this individual contribution of the reader the strongest efforts of the historian fail to effect their purpose. If, however, the author provides sufficient stimu­lus, paints enough of the background, the task of reconstruction is simplified and the reader can be carried along, reliving another period with a minimum of personal endeavor.

The test, then, of an example of the " new history's " success lies in whether the author has brought to the reader enough of descrip­tive detail to make reconstruction simple — practically unconscious or subconscious — and yet has abstained from dragging in so much material that the reader becomes bogged. To a considerable degree The Irrepressible Conflict meets the test. It does not require an undue amount of contribution by the reader to feel himself back in the days when the clash of two economic systems was hovering near, nor to get something of what life must have meant to those who lived through the Civil War.

As yet no one of the contributors to this series has succeeded wholly in weaving the story into a continuous whole; all of the nar­ratives have been episodic — some more and some less. Mr. Cole's volume, I should say, is one of the less episodic because he does achieve a degree of integration and his transitions are relatively easy. One does not have the feeHng that here are separate chapters any one of

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which could stand alone without the rest as a fairly complete whole. But there still remains to be done the ideal presentation — an ideal perhaps always to be hoped for but never attained.

Covering the years from 1850 to 1865, this book deals with many of the activities which made up the everyday life of a people. Some of the chapters try to take in the whole sweep of the country. The introductory chapter entitled " Prosperity and Panic " treats, as one woidd suspect, of the economic life of the fifties — its material ad­vance, its shifts in mechanical methods, its speculative boom, and its crash. T h e extent of the country and its variety of interests, habits, modes of living, and all the rest, necessitate separate treatments of broad sections with attempts to differentiate between smaller areas in those sections. So, for example, " The Land of Chivalry " and " The South Militant " are, as the headings indicate, descriptions of Dixie, its " peculiar " institution, and the effect of that institution upon its thinking and way of living. " The Struggle for the New West " deals with the trek toward the setting sun and the conflict of North and South over its domination, while " Farm and F ie ld" shows agricultural development progressing from the older west to the newer west of the Mississippi Valley and beyond. Immigration, education, the church, advance in " Health and Happiness" and nascent friction between labor and capital, " The Growing Pains of Society," all come in for treatment, and " Fanatic and Doughface " tells about the last approaching crisis about to be precipitated between plantation economy, supported by sentiment if not by the intelligent self-interest of a struggling small-farmer class, and an industrial and agricultural economy of North and West.

Four chapters tell the story of life in war time. Here there has to be a pretty sharp division between the description of the North and the South since, in reality, there were two nations, impinging upon one another in nonmilitary ways, but essentially separate.

Despite the fact that the author has used discrimination in his choice of illustrative material, there is much detail and, so far as pos­sible without too seriously interfering with the continuity of the story, he has allowed contemporaries to tell their impressions in their own words. No two writers would select the same events to bring out the picture and none could say that either was right or wrong, so, to express an opinion about some of the selections is not implying

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criticism. Nevertheless one wonders why the clipper ship should be, by implication at least, ascribed alone to New England (p. 10) and why the oceanographic work of Matthew Fontaine Maury is not con­nected with the marvelous feats of those beautiful craft. So again, there might be raised the question why the Kansas strife is tied wholly to the slavery issue (p. 85-87) and the land issue only brought in in another connection (p. 113).

It can be understood why Illinois figures so prominently in fur­nishing illustrative material, but other pioneer states, like Minnesota, which gets but slight mention, or Iowa or Wisconsin, could equally well have been drawn upon. Indeed, if there is a serious lack it would seem to be in a certain neglect of the fringes of settlement, although the reader is taken by stage routes to remote parts and dips into the mining camps of the frontier. But, as I remarked, no two would use the same emphasis or call upon the same illustrations.

There are reproductions of contemporary drawings, cartoons, photographs and the like, and there is the usual excellent critical bibliography. M r . Cole's book measures up well with the better volumes of the series.

LESTER B . SHIPPEE

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

MINNEAPOLIS

The Frauds Preston Blair Family in Politics. By W I L L I A M ERNEST S M I T H , Ph. D., professor of American history, Miami Univer­sity. In two volumes. (New York, The Macmillan Com­pany, 1933. xi, 516, vi, 523 p. Illustrations. $7.50.)

The political careers of Francis Preston Blair, Sr., and of his two sons, Montgomery Blair and Francis Preston Blair, Jr., extend over nearly fifty years of American history, and those fifty years are the eventful ones from the beginning of Jackson's administration to the end of the reconstruction era. Since the Blairs were very prominent politically and since they shifted their party affiliations and their places of residence several times during this period, any complete account of their careers must cover all parties and many sections. For that reason the author of the Francis Preston Blair Family in Politics may, perhaps, be pardoned for making his two long volumes almost a political history of the United States during that long period,

1934 S M I T H : BLAIR FAMILY IN POLITICS 331

from a Blair family viewpoint, it is true, but with an almost confusing wealth of detail.

M r . Smith has had access to all the Blair family material, a great mass of manuscript hitherto scarcely used, and has spent many years in research. His book is the first real attempt to place the activities of the Blairs against a complete background of the events of their period, and the result is illuminating, not only as a picture of the Blair family, but as a discussion of the perplexing decisions everyone interested in politics must have faced in the years when the slavery question complicated every issue. T h e Blairs were Jacksonian Demo­crats, followed Van Buren and Benton in opposition to Calhoun, and became in turn Free Soilers, anti-Nebraska Democrats, and Repub­licans. After the Civil W a r they were anti-radical advisors of Andrew Johnson, and they swung back into the Democratic party vdth the failure to create a new party in 1866.

Since the Blair family came from Kentucky to Washington and the second generation settled in Missouri in the forties, both East and West were the scenes of their political efforts. Perhaps the most interesting part of Mr . Smith's work is the great light thrown on Missouri politics immediately before and during the Civil W a r period by the study of the political career of Francis Preston Blair, Jr . Only occasionally are there chapters of especial interest to those work­ing in northwestern or Minnesota history. The chapter on the case of Dred Scott is valuable because it includes material from the papers of Montgomery Blair, who argued the case in the United States Supreme Court. T h e Blairs were extremely active in the organiza­tion of the Republican party, and Francis Preston Blair, Jr., trav­eled extensively in the North and the Northwest preparing the ground for the campaign of 1860. His speeches in St. Paul and in St. An­thony had such effect that they called forth a complimentary letter from Abraham Lincoln. Near Lexington, Minnesota, Blair met, for the first time, Carl Schurz, who was on the same sort of speaking tour, and they discussed western politics over a picnic lunch on the side of the road. After the return of the Blairs to the Democratic party, because of their dislike for radical reconstruction measures, Francis Preston Blair, Jr., was a vice presidential candidate in 1868, placed on the ticket to secure western votes. So the history of the family is identified with that of the West in many ways.

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The format of the book is excellent. The author's research has been extensive and the mass of new information is large. One feels at times that his years of concentration upon the Blairs has led him to overestimate their importance in American politics, and that the amount of detail has caused difficulty of organization and lack of clarity in style. There is a long and well-organized, although un­critical, biblography, and far too brief an index. The work will, I am sure, be of great and lasting value to the student of the period in which the Blairs lived.

ALICE F . T Y L E R

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

MINNEAPOLIS

The Illinois Central Railroad and Its Colonization Work (Harvard Economic Studies, vol. 42 ) . By P A U L W A L L A C E GATES,

assistant professor of history, Bucknell University. (Cam­bridge, Harvard University Press, 1934. xiii, 374 p. Illus­trations, maps. $4.00.)

First and last, the history of American railways has received a good deal of attention from students of history and economics. In the main, however, writers upon the subject have been content with an exploration of federal and state documents, the commercial and financial perodicals, and the printed reports of the railways them­selves. Tha t the companies, sometimes by design, more often, per­haps, by accident, had extensive archives awaiting investigation seems not to have occurred to the historian. One of the chief merits of the book under review is that it represents, besides a lull use of a wide variety of printed materials, the most thorough examination, perhaps, yet made of the manuscript resources of an important American rail­way.

While the main interest of Professor Gates is in the land policies of the Illinois Central, his work is in reality a general history of the company during its first forty years. Virtually every phase of its activity during that period has been subjected to careful scrutiny, usually with results which amply justify the author's efforts. Thus new light has been thrown upon the contest in Congress over the land grant, the struggle in Illinois in regard to the charter, and the early financial history of the road.

1934 G A T E S : ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD 333

Throughout the book the author presents his material against a wide backgroimd. Under the caption " Constructing a Prairie Rail­road," he discusses far more than the building of the Illinois Central, while his chapter on " Land Speculation " is an admirable account of speculative activity in the government lands of Illinois, which should be emulated lor other states.

Since the Illinois Central was the pioneer among land-grant rail­ways, it was naturally the first railway to face the difficult problem of formulating a policy for the administration of subsidy lands. The officials of the company could not draw upon the experience of others in this connection, for enlightened self-interest made it impossible for the land-endowed railway to be guided by the methods and practices of governments or speculative land companies. Much trial and error was necessary before an intelligent policy was evolved, but the emi­nently satisfactory financial results to the company, the rapid settle­ment of the Illinois prairie, and the widespread adoption by other railways of many of the devices and methods of the Illinois Central all abundantly attest to the success with which the company's efforts were ultimately rewarded.

T h e advertising campaigns of the railway, the competition for foreign immigrants, important colonies established under railway auspices, together with the encouragement of improved methods in agriculture given by President Osborn of the Illinois Central, are discussed in detail. WTiile the reviewer is disposed to question the author's assertion as to the completeness with which this last named policy anticipated the agricultural development work of later rail­ways, this is but a minor criticism of an excellent book, thorough, judicious, and critical, which must command the attention of every student of our economic history.

JAMES B . HEDGES

BROWN UNIVERSITY

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

The Republican Expansionists of the Early Reconstruction Era. By J O E PATTERSON S M I T H . (Chicago, private edition distributed by the University of Chicago Libraries, 1933. iii, 129 p.)

It is only of comparatively recent date that students in the United States and Canada have become particularly interested in the study

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of the interrelations of these two closely associated countries of the North American continent. Tha t this is true is most surprising, for neither the history of the United States nor that of Canada can be thoroughly understood without a knowledge of the effect of the devel­opment of the one upon the other. During the past ten or fifteen years, however, students in both Canada and the United States have become more or less cognizant of this fact. Professor R. G. Trotter of Queen's University might be regarded as the initiator of this inter­est. In many of his writings, and probably more particularly in his lectures in American and Canadian universities, he has frequently suggested the significance of the study of the interrelations of the two nations. Dr . Smith's Republican Expansionists of the Early Recon­struction Era, the book under review, is an excellent example of Professor Trotter 's stimulation.

Republican Expansionsists of the Early Reconstruction Era is a study of " curious and half-groping attempts at expansion which had as their goal the incorporation of British North America with the United States." An introduction and five chapters make up the volume. Probably the most interesting and valuable chapters in the monograph are those that treat of " Reciprocity Repeal and Canadian Annexation" and " Northward Expansion and American Politics during the Summer of 1866."

In the opinion of the reviewer the weakest chapter in the study from several points of view is the one called " ' The Kingdom of Canada ' and ' Manifest Destiny.' " Although the author copiously cites original sources for his statements of fact, a large measure of what he says is rather well known and in a few instances decidedly trite. Like a good many Americans writing on Canada, Dr. Smith seems to lack a perspective and an understanding of the Canadian mind and environment. Certainly the British North American atti­tude toward the half-groping American attempts at expansion is in­adequately explained.

T h e author's main thesis throughout the dissertation is to prove that the annexation attempts of the sixties were largely, il not en­tirely, political bogey promoted by a radical minority of the Repub­lican party, and motivated by selfish political designs. It is asserted that this group was not really interested in expansion as such, but that it " toyed with the notion . . . as a means to satisfy ends other than

1934 S W A N S O N : T H E P H A N T O M EMPEROR 335

that of territorial aggrandisement. As each successive step of the movement unfolded, the program adopted by the extremists was dictated by political expediency directed to the end of maintaining their political supremacy." Dr . Smith has ingeniously established his contention. But has not he carried it to an extreme? The re­viewer will agree that he has the right to labor under the notion that the Republican party of the reconstruction era resorted to a multitude of ways and means to establish its supremacy in the nation; but, that every single Congressman advocating British North American acqui­sition in the sixties was not really interested in expansion but was urging it merely as political bogey to further the political fortunes of himself and of his party is simply an overstatement of the truth.

T h e present reviewer has examined nearly all the major sources that Professor Smith has used. In a good many of these sources there is sufficient evidence for one to draw conclusions, if he so desired, directly opposed to those presented in the Republican Expansionists of the Reconstruction Era. In so doing, however, he would err as much as Dr . Smith. T h e conclusion is that Dr. Smith has not really succeeded in proving that the expansion attempts of the sixities were merely propaganda dictated by a minority group of the Republican party to maintain its political supremacy.

J O H N PERRY PRITCHETT

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA GRAND FORKS

The Phantom Emperor. By N E I L H . SWANSON. (New York, G. P . Putnam's Sons. 1934. 391 p. $2.50.)

The author of the Phantom Emperor is apparently one of those who hold that history, if well presented, has more appeal for the multitude than pure fiction — that few of us can resist the appeal of " it actually happened." Both his new novel and his Judas Tree are stirring tales based on historic events. Since both won the seal of popular approval by remaining for long periods of time on the lists of best sellers lor the entire country, it is obvious that Mr . Swanson knows the psychology of American readers.

One must not be misled by the phrase " based on historic events." The writer of historical novels, so long as he does no violence to the spirit of history, is always at liberty to mold his historic data into

336 R E V I E W S O F B O O K S SEPT.

shapes that the scientific historian would hardly recognize. Accord­ingly, the reader of this book need not look for too close a resemblance in figure and character between General James Dickson of history and General Philip Dufresne, the phantom emperor. T o be sure, both styled themselves " emperor " ; both led bizarre expeditions over the Great Lakes and across northern Minnesota; both had the fac­ulty of commanding the allegiance of ill-assorted companies of men; and both were indisputably courageous. But James Dickson, the man, remains far within the shadows of history; whereas Philip Dufresne stands out clearly in this volume, his past life, his child, his purpose, indeed his very French accent, freely disclosed. History has produced as yet no record of Guerdon Warrener or of the em­peror's daughter, though they are outstanding figures in this book. A woman in Northwest history suggested Maurine Dufresne to the author, but there the resemblance ends, as, perforce it must, for reputable women, except missionaries, were not found in the fur country visited by the expedition of 1836 and 1837.

Even the villain of the story, Angus Mac Clung, has no real coun­terpart in history. T h e presence of the half-breed son of " Em­peror " Kenneth Mackenzie in Dickson's party would appear to have suggested the character of the metis, Mac Clung, to M r . Swanson. It is only in the matter of Mac Clung and his band of half-breeds that historians have good reason to censure the author for violating the spirit of history. These metis are made to typify their class, and the reader is led to believe that half-breeds as a group were snakes in the grass. Mr . Swanson would have made a stronger novel, as well as a more authentically historical one, if he had represented Mac Clung and his cohorts as individuals — villains, il villains there must be in the story — and not as examples of half-breeds. T h e more one studies the biographies of the half-breeds of American and Canadian history, the profounder becomes one's respect for them. Where can one find more heroism, for example, than in the career of Pierre Bottineau, the half-breed who saved the remnant of Dickson's party from a blizzard on the Dakota plains?

In other respects, however, the book gives an excellent idea of life in many parts of the United States in the thirties. And while adher­ing to the language, customs, and dress of the period, the author has managed to make his characters so vivid and their speech so interesting

1934 MANAHAN : A U T O B I O G R A P H Y 337

that few readers will lay down the book before finishing it. Some will find it tinged with melodrama; but those must remember that the actual participants in Dickson's expedition saw themselves as heroes, their cause as unquestionable, the enemy as wholly reprehen­sible, and the future as rosy and certain. One has only to read the diary of the man who made this story known to the world, Martin McLeod, to perceive the melodrama in his views. This diary, pre­served by the Minnesota Historical Society and published in its quar­terly, has been utilized freely by M r . Swanson, and his manner of using it is made clear in his foreword and conclusion.

GRACE L E E N U T E

MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY ST. PAUL

Trials of a Lawyer: Autobiography. By JAMES M A N A H A N . ([St . Paul, privately printed, 1933.J 248 p. Illustrations.)

This autobiography, which was completed shortly before the au­thor's death, will recall to Minnesotans the outspoken, courageous crusader — a veritable gadfly — who was known to friend and foe as " Jim " Manahan. The vigorous style and language betray what manner of man he was; but the good humor that abounds throughout the book will perpetuate the pleasant memories of friends and will soften the judgments of adversaries, who, while still beholding the mote in " Jim " Manahan's eye, will perhaps consider the beam in their own.

Manahan was born in 1866 on a farm near Chatfield, Minnesota, and, as he says, he woke up in 1896, on a hot July day, in a vacant store in Lincoln, Nebraska, when he heard the returns from the Democratic national convention, which in a frenzy of enthusiasm and indignation nominated a youthful lawyer like himself who dreamed of a civilization " sustained by happy men tilling their own soil." It was in this exciting campaign, when a picture of Bryan hung in the parlor of " every mortgaged farmstead," that Manahan was initiated into the devious ways of politicians. In 1898 he was ushered into politics as a candidate for Congress of Democrats, Populists, and Silver Republicans, the same combination that had sponsored the candidacy of his distinguished townsman; but his Congressional aspirations were not realized until 1912, when, curiously enough, this

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outspoken Bryan Democrat was elected Congressman at large from Minnesota on the Republican ticket. When the progressive Repub­lican Congressman arrived in Washington, one of the first calls he made was on Secretary of State Bryan, who with a broad, boyish grin said: " W e never dreamed in Lincoln that we would be here, to­gether, in high office, did we Jim ? "

After his " dabble " in politics in 1898, Manahan resumed his law practice. In 1904 he returned to Minnesota, where for a generation before the bar, the Interstate Commerce Commission, and legislative and railway committees and commissions he was the champion of causes initiated by the Farmers' Alliance and furthered by the Non­partisan League, of which he was a prominent organizer and leader. This militant organization ran afoul of the Minnesota Commission of Public Safety; and Manahan was classed with Townley, Lindbergh, and Gilbert as a traitor to his country. His part in the street rail­way strike brought his indictment by a St. Paul grand jury, the chair­man of which was secretary to the president of a railway company and the father of a high official in the St. Paul Street Railway Com­pany. A fearless judge, however, brushed aside the influence of the war hysteria in the court room and dismissed the indictment. But the irrepressible " Jim " was to have another experience with mob psychology. As counsel for Joseph Gilbert at Lakefield, he was hustled toward the river, when, in his own words, he heard his " lying tongue" say: " ' I have no use for those damn socialists.' Like Peter, I cursed. I denied my client and the truth. I cursed. My cowardice and betrayal caught the sympathy of that cowardly mob. . . . Thrice I lied that night. I said I didn't mean it."

One does not have to believe that " Jim " Manahan was always right to find relish in his pages. The reader will not only find inter­esting incidents and important events pertaining to the investigation of the railways, the Pullman Company, express companies, and the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, to the reliability of newspapers, and to the fate of the Equity Cooperative Exchange, but he will make intimate acquaintance with such interesting characters as Woodrow Wilson, William J. Bryan, John P. Altgeld, George Fred Williams, Champ Clark, Robert M . La Follette, Ignatius Donnelly, George Loftus, A. C. Townley, and Richard T . O'Connor. John A. John­son, the state idol, fares badly at the hands of Manahan. He is pic-

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tured as a " lovable and tactful m a n " surrounded by a " strong phalanx of seasoned politicians " maintaining close contact with the Hill railroad machine, " which reached the front door of Wal l Street and the back door of Tammany Hall, without disturbing the obvi­ously sound strategy of posing Johnson as a reformer in sympathy with the struggling masses." This was the attitude of the idealistic Bryan Democrats in Minnesota, like John Lind, who in 1908 refused to desert their " peerless leader " in behalf of a favorite son.

Right or wrong, " Jim " Manahan's story is worth reading by the critical as well as the uncritical reader, who should be grateful to Kathryn Manahan, his daughter, for seeing it through the press.

GEORGE M . STEPHENSON

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

MINNEAPOLIS

M I N N E S O T A H I S T O R I C A L S O C I E T Y N O T E S

Dr. Grace Lee Nute, the society's curator of manuscripts, has left for England and France to carry on her studies for a joint biography of Radisson and Groseilliers, a project for which she was granted a fellowship by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation of New York. Her book will be awaited with keen interest by those who have followed the Radisson controversy and by students every­where who recognize in the two Frenchmen historical figures of in­ternational significance.

More than a hundred million years ago Minnesota was covered by a vast sea, according to geologists. Terrific volcanic action forced up through the waters huge masses of molten rock, which solidified into the granitic foundation rocks of the state. Starting with this remote period, the geological story of the state has been traced in broad outline in an exhibit which has recently been installed in the society's museum by Mr . and Mrs . Donald K. Lewis of Red Wing. The exhibit depicts the record that the rocks have made of the earth's growth. Step by step the geological changes that have occurred in Minnesota can be followed in that record, which reveals how the rocks have been broken down by water, erosion, and glaciation, and built up again in new forms. The exhibit shows graphically these processes by the use of ingenious colored plaques and specimens of various types of rocks.

Considerable progress has been made recently by the society in revising and expanding its bibliography of Minnesota newspapers, a project that has been under way for a number of years. The value of this bibliography will be greatly increased by an accompanying inventory of exisring files of the newspapers listed, an inventory that will take into account not only the files now in the possession of the state historical society but also those preserved in newspaper offices, in public libraries and other institutions, and by private individuals. In this connection the society recently addressed letters to the editors of all Minnesota newspapers requesting information about files of

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1934 H I S T O R I C A L SOCIETY NOTES 341

papers in their offices. In this letter it was pointed out that the in­formation would be utilized not only for the society's own bibliogra­phy, but also for a " Union List of American Newspapers since 1820 " which is being prepared under the auspices of the Bibliographical So­ciety of America. T h e response to the society's inquiry has been most generous, and some newspapers have taken occasion to give hearty edi­torial indorsement to the project as a whole. The following lines are from an editorial in the St. Paul Pioneer Press oi August 16:

It is a project which is deserving of the closest co-operation of news­paper publishers throughout the state. The contemplated bibliography will be a useful tool of reference to all concerned. The importance of newspapers as an historical source is universally recognized. The home­town paper functions as the diary of the community it serves. Histori­ans, however, would not be the only persons benefiting by a guide to the location of Minnesota newspaper files. Such information as the society is now gathering would be of use also to lawyers, ministers, business men, real estate dealers, educators, and many others who find frequent occasion to consult back numbers of local journals.

Minnesota has just rounded out its seventy-fifth year of statehood and should now be well equipped with the essential materials of state reference. It is high time, therefore, that Minnesota had a definitive bibliography of its journalistic publications.

Twenty-one additions have been made to the active membership of the society since April 1. T h e names of these new members, grouped by counties, follow:

H E N N E P I N : Ralph D. Brown, Mrs . John E. Bushnell, Mrs . D. M . Cooper, Alvin R. Evdng, Ruby Karstad, Mrs . Frank G. McMil­lan, George H . Rogers, G. Hubert Smith, and Harold R. Ward of Minneapolis; Mrs . Richard P . Gale of Mound; and William H . M . Adams of Robbinsdale.

M O W E R : Freda M . Boen of Grand Meadow. R A M S E Y : Pierce Atwater, Dr . Edwin B. Daugherty, Chester A.

Dosdall, Dr. Edgar T . Herrmann, Mrs . Alex L. Janes, Mrs . James Manahan, and William W . Marvin, all of St. Paul.

STEVENS: Dr . A. I. Arneson of Morris. W A S H I N G T O N : Marjorie Edgar of Marine.

The Thursday Club of St. Paul has become an institutional mem­

ber of the society.

The society lost ten active members by death during the three months ending June 30: Carl E. Van Cleve of Minneapolis, April

3 4 2 HISTORICAL SOCIETY NOTES SEPT.

17; Mrs . William C. Whitney of Minneapolis, May 5 ; George W . Gardner of St. Paul, May 14; Bernard Zimmermann of St. Paul, May 14; Jacob C. Pope of Mora, May 16; Cass Gilbert of New York, May 17; Dr. Hugh C. Arey of Excelsior, May 20 ; Edward P. Sanborn of St. Paul, May 29; Henry C. Drake of St. Paul, June 4 ; and John P. Upham of St. Paul, June 10. T h e death of George C. Lay of St. Paul on January 30 has not been reported previously in the magazine.

Miss Jerabek's study of the Czech settlement at Silver Lake, which appeared in the March issue of M I N N E S O T A HISTORY under the title " The Transition of a New-World Bohemia," is reprinted in install­ments in the Hennepin County Review of Hopkins from April 26 to May 10, and in the New Prague Times from May 10 to 24.

Mr . Babcock attended the annual meeting of the American Asso­ciation of Museums, which was held in Toronto from May 30 to June 1. Before the history section on May 30 he presented a paper entitled " Analyzing a Picture Collection " in which he described the subject catalogue that is being made for the pictures, other than por­traits, that are preserved by the society.

The superintendent spoke at meetings looking toward the organi­zation of county historical societies at Stillwater on April 11 and at Anoka on June 28 ; he gave a lecture on " Minnesota Agitators and Apostles " to the biography class of the general college at the Uni­versity of Minnesota on May 24; and he talked on the " L u r e of Minnesota His tory" before the Men's Club of Faith Lutheran Church of St. Paul on June 14. The curator of manuscripts spoke on " Radisson and Groseilliers " before the Zonta Club of St. Paul on April 10; on "Pioneer W o m e n " before the Women's Club of Hancock on April 2 1 ; on the voyageur before the Business and Pro­fessional Women's Club of the Park Baptist Church of St. Paul on April 2 3 ; and on " Wilderness Marthas " before the mother's section of the Faculty Women's Club of the University of Minnesota on May 16. The curator of the museum presented talks entitled " A n Illustrated Ramble through Minnesota His tory" on April 13 at the Young Men's Christian Association of Minneapolis and on April 16 before the St. Paul Civic League; he described the activities of the society for the Thursday Study Club of St. Paul on April 19; and he

1934 A C C E S S I O N S 343

spoke on old Fort Snelling at the dedication of a marker erected by the Colonial chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution on the shores of the Lake of the Isles on April 28, on " Community Memory'. ' before the Rainbow Veterans Association of Minneapolis on May 2, on the Minnesota Indians before the Knife and Fork Club of St. Paul on May 11, on " Pageantry in Minnesota" before mem­bers of the Northwestern Minnesota Historical Association meeting in Minneapolis on May 28, on the " Contributions of the Pond Brothers to the Building of Minnesota " at a Pond centennial cele­bration held at Bloomington on June 16, and on "Visualizing Min­nesota " at Douglas Lodge in Itasca State Park on June 30. M r . Babcock also spoke at a meeting held at Marshall on June 14 which resulted in the organization of the Lyon County Historical Society.

The Monument chapter of the Daughters of the American Revo­lution of Minneapolis, as a memorial to the late Mrs. Marshall Cool­idge, has set aside a sum of money for the purchase of genealogical works for the society's collection. The first volume purchased by the chapter is a Genealogy of the Descendants of Joseph Bartlett of Newton, Mass. for Seven Generations, compiled by Aldis E. Hibner (Rutland, Vermont, 1934).

ACCESSIONS

T w o letters written at Michilimackinac and Prairie du Chien in 1816 by Litle Wiley while he was engaged in a fur-trading journey have been photographed for the society from the originals in the pos­session of Mr . Richard R. Sackett of Minneapolis. " I am now bound lor the head waters of the Mississippi about five hundred miles above the falls of S* Anthony," he writes on September 8, 1816, " with a boat load of Indian goods for the purpose of trading " with the Sioux and the Chippewa. Transcripts of two additional Wiley letters written in 1815 and 1818 and relating to his trading activi­ties also have been received from M r . Sackett.

The appointment of Amos J. Bruce as Indian agent at St. Peter's in 1840 to succeed Major Lawrence Taliaferro is the subject of some of the letters received by the Indian office between 1838 and 1840, calendar cards for which have been secured recently from Dr. New­ton D., Mereness, the archival agent in Washington for a group of

344 HISTORICAL SOCIETY NOTES SEPT.

historical agencies. Other matters of Minnesota interest touched upon in this group of papers are smallpox among the Sioux and the Mandans, the Methodist mission on Elk River, the Faribault Island claim, the half-breed reservation on Lake Pepin, and an investigation into Henry R. Schoolcraft's conduct as superintendent of Indian af­fairs in Michigan.

Five letters written by Burleigh Smart from Kennebunk, Maine, between 1840 and 1845 are among some eighty items which have been added by his grandson, M r . Henry B. Wenzell of Stillwater, to the Wenzell Papers already in the possession of the society (see ante, 13: 428) . M r . Wenzell also has turned over to the society nine notebooks which he kept during a European trip from 1876 to 1878.

A typed copy of a letter written by David Dale Owen from Still­water on September 14, 1847, regarding the geological survey of the Minnesota region that was being made under his direction, has been presented by his granddaugter, Mrs . Caroline Dale Snedeker of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. T h e original is among the writer's papers in the possession of the Owen family.

A wealth of material on pioneer life in the St. Croix Valley from 1848 to 1898 is to be found in twenty-five volumes of the papers of William Willim of Stillwater, which have been presented by his son-in-law, M r . George S. Millard of Waterloo, Iowa. Many details relating to Willim's business activities as a plasterer, contractor, and the owner of a lime kiln and a brick yard are included. Among the well-known pioneers mentioned in the papers are Anson Northup, William T . Boutwell, Franklin Steele, and William and Daniel Stanchfield. An inventory of the estate of John Columbus of Vasa is contained in one volume. One of the most interesting items in the collection is the citizenship paper granted to Willim, a native of England, on June 18, 1847, by the district court of St. Croix County, Wisconsin Territory, and signed by Joseph R. Brown as clerk.

Three additional letters of Eben Weld, the trader and government farmer among the Sioux whose Minnesota letters appear elsewhere in this number of the magazine, have been received from Miss Gladys Weld of Montpelier, Vermont (see ante, p. 222). Although these letters were written in Oregon in the fifties, they include occasional

1934 ACCESSIONS 345

references to Minnesota. A fourth letter written in 1858 by Alex­ander C. Anderson relates to Weld's death.

Information on land in Dakota County that was bought and sold by Henry H . Sibley and Alexander Faribault between 1854 and 1877 is contained in some twenty-eight items from the archives of the Da­kota County register of deeds, which have been copied for the society on film slides. A deed by which Sibley transferred some of his Men­dota property to Bishop Thomas Grace of the Catholic diocese of St. Paul on September 28, 1868; and a decree of the probate court on June 27, 1892, relative to Sibley's estate are included.

The diaries kept by Ignatius Donnelly from 1855 to 1900 have been deposited with the society by his widow, Mrs . Henry L. Wolt­man of St. Paul. Wi th these diaries Mrs. Woltman has turned over various notebooks kept by Donnelly, a memorandum book containing his description of his Minnesota visit of 1856, campaign and other political records, private accounts, a day book for the Anti-Monopolist covering the year 1876 and part of 1877, and a large mass of cor­respondence. The Donnelly diaries are being edited lor publication by Dr . Theodore C. Blegen, superintendent of the society.

A scrapbook of clippings collected by Francis B. Sweet in New York in 1855 and 1856 and three similar volumes of clippings as­sembled while he was living in Minneapolis from 1865 to 1868 have been received from his son, Mr . Frank Sweet of San Antonio, Texas. The later books consist for the most part of articles relating to events in Minneapolis, and many of them were written by the elder Sweet, who was connected with several Twin City papers as editor or re­porter.

A French and German composition book used by J . A. and Carrie L. Porter while attending school at St. Peter between 1856 and 1859 has been received from Mr . Warren H . Biggs of Williamston, North Carolina. The volume also contains a caricature of " M r . Bristol, the singing master."

Pioneer conditions in the Minnesota Valley are described in a let­ter written by Jay T . Wakefield on July 17, 1857, from " 17 Miles South of Fort Ridgeley & 250 miles up the Minnesota River from St. Paul on the extreme border of Civilization," which has been

346 HISTORICAL SOCIETY NOTES SEPT.

copied for the society from the original in the possession of Mr . H . K. Boyd of Monango, North Dakota.

Sixty-eight volumes of business accounts of the lumbering firm of Walker, Judd, and Veazie of Marine for the years from 1857 to 1898 are the gift of Mr . R. E. Strand of Marine. Among the inter­esting and valuable items of information to be gleaned from these records are the names of the company's employees, the prices that they paid for articles purchased at a store maintained by the com­pany, the amount of their wages, the quantity of lumber scaled and sold, and the rates charged for transporting passengers and freight on St. Croix and Mississippi River steamboats in which the company owned an interest. Surveyors' reports and plats and material about the laying out of roads and cart ways in the vicinity of Marine be­tween 1882 and 1890 are to be found in a volume of proceedings of the local board of supervisors, which accompanies this gift.

Four circulars relating to a controversy over the location of the county seat of Freeborn County around 1857 have been photographed for the society from the originals in the county auditor's office at Albert Lea. One of them advocates that Itasca be made the county seat, and predicts that this town, which has long since passed out of existence, " is destined to become a large, flourishing inland town, as it lies on the main thoroughfare thro' the county." A later circular announces that the proprietors of Fairfield and Itasca have with­drawn their towns in favor of Bancroft in order to oppose a coali­tion between Albert Lea and Shell Rock City. The circulars were called to the society's attention as a consequence of the survey of local archives in Freeborn County last spring under the C W A .

Methodism in Minnesota, the effects of the panic of 1857, steam­boating on the Mississippi, a flood on the St. Croix, a fire at Carleton College, and visits to St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Lake Minnetonka are among the topics touched upon in items recently transcribed for the society from files for the years from 1859 to 1880 of the Boston Daily Traveller, the Xion's Herald, the Advance, the Christian Reg­ister, and the Independent, all in the Congregational Library in Bos­ton.

About ninety letters written between 1861 and 1866 by the Rev­erend George S. Biscoe, a home missionary for the Congregational

1934 ACCESSIONS 347

church at Cottage Grove, have been presented by his daughter. Miss Lucy W . Biscoe of Grafton, Massachusetts. Material on church activities in Minnesota, on the plans for a college later known as Carleton, on pioneer life in Washington County, on early agricul­ture in the region, on settlers of the vicinity, and on the feeling against the Sioux after the uprising of 1862 is to be found in these interest­ing papers. In one letter Biscoe describes a reception given by Ram­sey at his home after his election as senator in 1863; in another he tells of a meeting called at Cottage Grove to consider the Civil W a r draft. Miss Biscoe also has presented three letters written by her grandfather, T . C. Biscoe, in 1860 during a visit to Minnesota.

Silas L. He3rwood's commissions and discharge papers as a lieu­tenant in the Second New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the Civil W a r and muster rolls of the same regiment have been presented by his daughter-in-law, Mrs . Charles T . Heywood of Minneapolis. She has also presented a revolver of the Civil W a r type which belonged to Heywood.

" A Sioux Woman's Account of the Uprising in Minnesota " is contained in an interview with Good Star Woman recorded and pre­sented to the society by Miss Frances Densmore of Red Wing, the well-known student of Indian life and lore. The causes of the out­break and the manner in which the friendly Sioux were treated after the Indian war are recalled by Good Star Woman, who was eight years old in 1862.

The Minnesota department of the Grand Army of the Republic has added to its archives the records of Acker post number 21 of St. Paul and a volume of sketches, compiled by George Benz in 1890, of the Civil W a r services of Garfield post number 8 of St. Paul. The Acker post records, which cover the years from 1870 to 1918, consist of two volumes of registers of deceased members and a filing box of correspondence, accounts, muster rolls, and miscellaneous papers.

The business enterprises conducted between 1884 and 1891 by E. Fabel, supposedly at Jordan, are reflected in an interesting account book received through the courtesy of M r . O . O. Rekow of Chaska. Charges for merchandise and board, records of receipts for making buggy trips to various Minnesota towns, accounts as agent for a num-

348 HISTORICAL SOCIETY NOTES SEPT.

ber of insurance companies, and accounts as the administrator of a

will are included in the volume.

Three volumes of records of school district number 3 at Hancock in Stevens County for the years from 1877 to 1895 have been re­ceived through the courtesy of M r . Nolan C. Kearney of Hancock, and four similar volumes for district number 11 at Windemere in Pine County covering the period from 1883 to 1903 are the gift of the district through M r . E. S. Skog of Sturgeon Lake. The vol­umes include minutes of school meetings, teachers' contracts, treas­urer's reports, attendance records, and the like. A few miscellane­ous items of correspondence and accounts for the years 1890 to 1914 accompany the Stevens County records.

The court reporter's record of proceedings of the activities of the district court of McLeod County at Glencoe from 1880 to 1919, filling six filing boxes, have been received from Judge C. M . Tifft of Glencoe. Further material on suits tried before the same court is to be found in seven boxes of legal papers accumulated by M r . Gar­field W . Brown of St. Paul between 1906 and 1920 while he was a practicing attorney at Glencoe and now presented to the society.

A term paper prepared at the University of Minnesota by Floyd Sorenson on " The Development of a Cooperative Community, Clarks Grove, 1863-1912," which includes an account of the first cooperative creamery established in Minnesota, has been made for the society through the courtesy of the author. In its preparation Mr . Sorenson utilized, among other sources, the business records of the creamery and other cooperative enterprises at Clarks Grove.

Sister Antonia, president of the college of St. Catherine, St. Paul, has presented copies of six talks on local history which were included in a series broadcast over W C C O under the auspices of the Minne­sota Daughters of the American Revolution (see ante, p. 127), and a copy of an address on " T h e Convent School at Mendota, 1867-1878," which she delivered before a meeting of the Catholic Histori­cal Society of St. Paul on January 7.

A copy of an essay on Deer River entitled " The Story of a Log­ging Town," which was submitted by John Zetterstrom in a contest among school children sponsored by the local woman's club, has been

1934 ACCESSIONS 349

presented by Miss Aletha M . Herwig, formerly a teacher in the high school at Deer River.

A copy of a biographical sketch of the late Leonard A. Straight of St. Paul, which was read at a meeting of the Ramsey County Bar Association on March 31, is the gift of that organization.

A long manuscript by Frank H . Nutter on birds of the United States, and especially of Minnesota, is the gift of his son, Mr . Wil­lard A. Nutter of Minneapolis. The manuscript was prepared dur­ing the years 1930 to 1932 and was intended for publication.

Three new volumes of mimeographed vital records have been re­ceived from the Minnesota Daughters of the American Revolution. They are entitled " Tombstone Records of Cemeteries in Winona County," " James Taylor Genealogy and Portland [Maine] Tran­script Vital Records," and " Bibles and Wills." The tombstone rec­ords, compiled by Mabel L. Marvin, cover all cemeteries in Winona County with the exception of Woodlawn Cemetery of Winona. As a general rule the compiler gives names and years — but not month and day — of birth and death. In some instances the place of birth is indicated. Military service is ordinarily stated. In general, it would seem, however, that the tombstone inscriptions should yield a richer harvest of detailed information than is utilized in the present com­pilation. The usefulness of this volume is enhanced by a satisfactory index.

Many articles of Minnesota interest are to be found in a file of an early periodical known as the Leisure Hour for the years from 1852 to 1861, recently added to the society's library.

A little pamphlet entitled The Flower Queen, Performed at a Grand Musical Festival at Barges' Hall on Christmas Eve, Thurs­day, Dec. 24, 1857, by a Juvenile Singing Class Connected with the Dakota Institute (Hastings, Minnesota, 1857. 18 p.) is a rare and early Minnesota imprint recently acquired by the society. The text of the playlet makes up the pamphlet; on the back of the cover are the names of the youthful Minnesota pioneers who made up the " Dramatis Persona."

T w o large oil paintings of Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and Fort Armstrong at Rock Island, Illinois, and five

350 HISTORICAL SOCIETY NOTES SEPT.

sketches in oil representing the falls of Minnehaha and St. Anthony, Indians fishing, Cheever's mills on the St. Croix, and some rapids in that stream, all by Henry Lewis, the St. Louis artist who visited Minnesota in 1848 while collecting material for a panorama of the Mississippi River, have been presented by the T . B. Walker Founda­tion through the courtesy of Mr . Hudson Walker of Minneapolis. The sketches were made in the field when Lewis visited the Minne­sota country; the paintings, which are based on similar sketches, were executed around 1900 in Diisseldorf, Germany. A copy of Lewis' journal of his Minnesota journey recently was received by the society (see ante, p. 110).

An interesting daguerreotype of George W . Northrup and an oil portrait of Northrup and his sister have been received from Mrs. Theresa C. MacEwan of Lafayette, New York, who some months ago presented the papers of this pioneer Minnesota scout, hunter, and Indian fighter (see ante, 'p. \\\). A number of articles that were used by Northrup while he lived in the Northwest, including a small leather trunk of the type that was used by travelers on stagecoaches, some saddlebags, a match box, and a cooper's hammer, also have been presented by Mrs. MacEwan.

Some recent additions to the domestic life collection are a husking peg dating from 1874, presented by M r . Herbert B. Schwartz of Wayzata; a section of old-fashioned barbed wire fencing with a nail for fastening it, received from M r . L. H . Wilson of Winthrop; and a fluting iron, presented by Dr. James C. Ferguson of St. Paul.

A blue china vegetable dish dated 1820, a sugar bowl used in 1850, a fruit dish of the sixties, some Staffordshire ware, a coffee mill, and some dress accessories and hats have been presented by the Misses Frances and Margaret Densmore of Red Wing. They have also added to the picture collection three small views of the Benjamin Densmore home in Red Wing.

Among recent additions to the costume collection are a dress of fig­ured poplin that was included in a trousseau of 1872 and a child's dress daring from 1875, from Miss Luella J . Brown of Los Angeles; several infant's dresses worn about 1854, from Miss Ellen Cardozo

1934 ACCESSIONS 351

of St. Paul; and a skirt and a petticoat of 1903, from Mrs. J. C. Rasmussen of Lake Crystal.

Oil portraits of Colonel Hans Mattson and his wife have been received from the Mattson family through the courtesy of Mr. Edgar Mattson of Minneapolis. A collection of small photographs of Civil War generals is the gift of Mrs. James T. Morris of Minneapolis; 243 Philippine views have been presented by General Charles McC. Reeve of Minnetonka Beach; and two views of the Bailly homestead in Indiana have been received from Mr. Edward Bailly of New York.

NEWS AND C O M M E N T

T h e centennial celebrations of 1934 are making the Minnesota of the days of " early candlelight " seem less remote than heretofore to many people. Sibley, the Pond brothers, and Dr . Williamson are in­deed figures of the past, but we are reminded that that past extends, by countless filaments, to the living present. There can be no doubt that the celebrations of the present year are quickening interest in the events and personalities of a hundred years ago and in the develop­ment that has come about in the intervening century. They are tend­ing to sharpen and focus the second sight, which is the gift of history. That second sight, viewing the past that binds together land and people, adds richness to individual life; gives a certain flavor and charm to the community that seeks to understand and to explain its own history; and deepens the significance of state and nation by pro­moting comprehension of the relation of parts to the whole.

" A List of American Periodicals and Serial Publications in the Humanites and Social Sciences " compiled by Leo F . Stock has been published by the American Council of Learned Societies in number 21 of its Bulletins {1934. 130 p . ) . Numbers 486 to 492 of the list are publications of the Minnesota Historical Society and of the Uni­versity of Minnesota.

A "Ro l l of Overland Astorians, 1810-12," compiled by Kenneth W . Porter from " two journals of the overland expedition to Astoria, containing accounts of the debits of persons connected with the ex­pedition for articles obtained from its commissary and credits due them for wages, skins, etc.," appears in the Oregon Historical Quar­terly for June.

The Bonga family and some of its members, of mixed Negro and Chippewa blood, who played an important part in the Minnesota fur trade of the last century are described by Kenneth W . Porter in an article on " Relations between Negroes and Indians within the Pres­ent Limits of the United States," which appears in the Journal of Negro History for July, 1932. Special consideration is given to the career of George Bonga, and attention is called to the fact that

352

1934 NEWS AND COMMENT 353

" many of his letters are in the collection of the Minnesota Historical Society."

Charles Larpenteur's Forty Years a Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri has been reprinted by R. R. Donnelly and Sons Company of Chicago as the annual Christmas volume of the Lakeside Classics for 1933. It is supplied with an " Historical Introduction " by Milo M . Quaife, who calls attention to the fact that the original Larpen­teur manuscript is preserved by the Minnesota Historical Society. H e notes also that a comparison of the published narrative with the original discloses that Dr . Elliott Coues, who originally edited the manuscript, " pretty completely revamped the language and literary construction."

Reports written by British travelers after visiting the United States are used by Harry J . Carman in an article entitled " English Views of Middle Western Agriculture, 1850—1870," which appears in Agri­cultural History for January. English observers' astonishment over the size of middle-western farms; their " descriptions of acreage, methods, yields, and marke ts" ; the enthusiasm which resulted in their failure, " with lew exceptions, to note the dangers which con­fronted the Western wheat grower " ; their admiration for American farm machinery; their adverse criticism of certain methods employed by American farmers; and their comments on livestock raising are noted. Sir James Caird's Prairie Farming in America (1859), por­tions of which are reprinted ante, 9 : 137—143, is quoted extensively. T h e reports from the Sessional Papers of the British Parliament cited by the author give an inkling of the wealth of material about America to be found in these official documents. A study of " Transportation and the Livestock Industry of the Middle West to 1860" is con­tributed by Charles T . Leavitt to the same issue of Agricultural His­tory.

A survey of " The First American Medical Journals " by Dr . John M . Armstrong of St. Paul is included in a volume of Lectures on the History of Medicine presented at the Mayo Foundation and various northwestern universities between 1926 and 1932 (Philadel­phia, 1933. 516 p . ) . Files of most of the journals described are in the library of the Ramsey County Medical Society in St. Paul.

3 5 4 NEWS AND COMMENT SEPT.

The Student of middle-western transportation will find of interest and value a volume on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Deep Waterway to the Sea by Tom Ireland (New York, 1934. 223 p.). The writer states that " for practical purposes " the project will "take the At­lantic Ocean from the Strait of Belle Isle at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River and place it at the waterfront of Duluth, 2,339 miles in the heart of the continent."

Decisions rendered by the United States Geographic Board be­tween 1890 and 1932 are included in its Sixth Report (1933. 834 p.). The accepted form and spelling of many Minnesota place names are included.

The beginnings of the Benedictine communities in Stearns County, Minnesota, are described by the Reverend Theodore Roemer in a dissertation on the Ludwig-Missionsverein and the Church in the United States (183^-1918) which has been published by the Catholic University of America as volume 16 of its Studies in American Church History (1933. xii, 161 p.). The author points out that " It was Father Pierz who caused Bishop Cretin to invite the Benedictines to come to Minnesota and take charge of the white settlers, so that he could devote all of his time to the care of the Indians." The Bene­dictine foundation in Stearns County, which was established in 1856, was, according to Father Roemer, " the first . . . in what was then the far West." The writer gives some attention to the founding and growth of St. John's Abbey at Collegeville, and to the work of the Benedictines among the White Earth and Red Lake Indians after the death of Father Pierz. He also tells of the Benedictine sisters' " first foundation in the West," which was established in Stearns County in 1857.

Three letters written at La Croix in 1836 and two at Sault Ste. Marie in 1837 and 1838 form the installments lor April, May, and June of the series of " Letters of Father Franz Pierz, Pioneer Mis­sioner," which the Reverend Hugo Bren is editing for publication in Central-Blatt and Social Justice (see ante, p. 233). On May 1, 1836, alter Father Pierz had been in America less than a year, he writes: " I am already quite at home among the Indians, and I lack nothing but a knowledge of their extremely difficult language, the need for which I feel more each day. . . . I have already listed sev-

1934 NEWS AND COMMENT 355

eral thousand words to be mastered during my fiftieth year, some of them, shouted from your hills, would waken lengthy echoes."

A diary kept by Bishop Henry B. Whipple while traveling in the South in 1843 and 1844 is being edited for publication by Professor Lester B. Shippee of the University of Minnesota.

An account of the " Dan-America Archives," a collection of ma­terial relating to Danish immigration and the Danes in America which is housed in a handsome building donated for the purpose at Aalborg, Denmark, is contributed by S. Waendelin to Julegranen lor 1933. In the same publication is a brief discussion of the Kensing­ton rune stone by Thomas P . Christensen.

The conclusions reached by M r . Hjalmar R. Holand regarding the authenticity of the Kensington rune stone in his recent book on that subject (see ante, 13 : 182-184) are accepted by Francis S. Bet-ten in a brief article on " The Kensington Stone " which appears in the Historical Bulletin lor May.

A descriptive account of " Wisconsin's Historical Manuscripts " by Alice E. Smith, curator of manuscripts for the State Historical Society of Wisconsin and formerly on the staff of the Minnesota Historical Society, appears in the Wisconsin Blue Book for 1933 (p. 1-17). Special attention is given to the priceless collection of manu­scripts assembled by Lyman C. Draper, the first secretary of the Wis­consin society; and descriptions are presented of the various types of material to be found in the larger collection of manuscripts, con­sisting of " perhaps half a million pieces," which relates more directly to the history of the state. Of special historical interest also are sketches of " Five Wisconsin Pioneers " — Colonel Henry Dodge, James Duane Doty, William Stephen Hamilton, Hans Christian Heg, and Carl Schurz — contributed to the Blue Book by Joseph Schafer, superintendent of the state historical society.

What Manitowocers Read 80 Years Ago is a valuable document lor the study of social and cultural history, published in pamphlet form with an explanatory introduction and a brief conclusion by Emil Baensch (Manitowoc, Wisconsin, 1933). It is a record kept from 1854 to 1856 by S. A. Wood, the Manitowoc postmaster, giving the names of subscribers and the publications that each received through

356 NEWS AND C O M M E N T SEPT.

the local post office. The names of the two hundred publications that were being received and the number of subscribers to each is given in a second list. M r . Baensch found that 1,854 papers and periodic­als were received by 453 subscribers. The population of the village in 1855 was only 2,185.

Among the papers of Judge Orlando C. Howe which Professor F . I. Herriott is publishing in the Annals of Iowa, is " A Memory of the Minnesota Indian Massacre " by Mrs . Howe in the April issue (p. 309-311). I t pictures the refugees from Springfield who fled to Spirit Lake in 1862.

A comprehensive History of Ohio in one substantial volume has been issued by Eugene H . Roseboom and Francis P . Weisenburger (1934. 545 p . ) . A comparatively small amount of space is given to exploration, the Indians, and territorial development; the growth of the modern commonwealth, however, is treated in some detail. Chapters on " Cultural Progress since 1850," on the " Progressive Movement," on " Progressivism Yields to the Martial Spirit," and on the period since the World W a r are worthy of special note.

A substantial section of Edwin C. Guillet's volume on Early Life in Upper Canada (1933. 782 p.) is devoted to "Pioneer Life," with chapters on homes, food and cooking, sugar making, fishing, co­operation and " bees," amusements, and sports. Another section carries the story of " Travel and Transportation " from the day of the canoe to that of the airplane. It includes chapters on the bateau and Durham boat, sailing vessels, steamships, trails and roads, the stagecoach, and railroads. Much material on Great Lakes transpor­tation may be found here. Among the subjects of special interest to Minnesotans that are discussed in the volume are Alexander Henry and the fur trade, the Fenian raids, and the Riel rebellion of 1870.

The second of a series of articles on the archives of the Hudson's Bay Company by R. H . G. Leveson Gower, the company's archivist, appears in the Beaver for June (see ante, p. 231) . The contents of the early minute books of the company are described in this article, and some illustrations are quoted of the " many and varied features of interest to be found " in these manuscript volumes. In the same issue of the Beaver is an article by Martha Munger Black on " Alex­ander Hunter Murray," a trader for the Hudson's Bay Company

1934 GENERAL M I N N E S O T A ITEMS 357

who served at Forts Garry and Pembina and in the Rainy Lake dis­trict during the fifties of the last century. Among the illustrations that accompany this article are reproductions of drawings by Murray showing Upper Fort Garry, Fort Pierre in Dakota, and Fort Union on the Missouri.

The Geographic Board of Canada has issued a work on the Place-Names of Manitoba, with explanations of their meaning, origin, early use, and the like (Ottawa, 1933. 95 p . ) . Many names of interest in Minnesota as well as in Manitoba, such as Pembina, Red River, Roseau River, and Lake of the Woods, are included.

" Visits of ' Overianders ' of 1859 and 1862 to Fort Garry " on their way to the Fraser River gold fields are described by Colin Ink-ster in the Winnipeg Free Press for June 30. Since the routes fol­lowed by the " Overlanders," who came from eastern Canada, led through Minnesota, the article has a special interest for Minnesotans. T h e earlier party reached the Red River settlements by way of the well-known Red River trail in ox-drawn wagons; the later group traveled by rail to La Crosse, thence by steamboat up the Mississipin to St. Paul, by stagecoach to Georgetown on the Red River, and on the steamboat " International " to Fort Garry.

The Red River hunters are described by John Peter Turner as the " most unique and efficient hunting organization in the world " in an article on " Buffalo Days on Red River " which appears in the Canadian Geographical Journal lor February. The author tells something of the backgrounds of the Red River settlement and its half-breed population and he describes a typical buffalo hunt. The illustrations, which include reproductions of paintings by Paul Kane and William Armstrong, are particularly noteworthy.

G E N E R A L M I N N E S O T A ITEMS

Dr. Solon J . Buck has contributed to volume 13 of the Dictionary of American Biography, edited by Dumas Malone for the American Council of Learned Societies, three sketches of special interest to Minnesotans. They deal with the careers of Edward D. Neill, pio­neer clergyman, educator, and historian; Knute Nelson, governor and United States senator; and Rensselaer R. Nelson, pioneer jurist. T h e important explorations in the upper Northwest of two French-

358 NEWS AND C O M M E N T SEPT.

men, Jean Nicolet and Joseph N. Nicollet, are reviewed by Louise P. Kellogg; Lester B. Shippee is the author of biographies of William Mitchell, judge, railroad president, and banker, and of Alvred B. Nettleton, publicist for Jay Cooke and the Northern Pacific Rail­road and publisher from 1885 to 1890 of the Minneapolis Tribune. The life of a leader in Minnesota education, Cyrus Northrop, second president of the University of Minnesota, is described by the late Oscar W. Firkins; and the career of a pioneer professor in the medical college of the same school. Dr. James E. Moore of Minneapolis, is reviewed by Arthur T. Mann. A Minnesotan who represented the United States in the first Hague Peace Conference, Stanford Newell, is the subject of a sketch by Irving L. Thomson. Biographies of Eric Norelius, pioneer Lutheran clergyman in Goodhue County, by J. Magnus Rohne; of Sven Oftedal, Lutheran clergyman and professor of theology in Augsburg Seminary of Minneapolis, by John O. Ev­jen; and of Frederick A. Noble, pastor of the House of Hope Pres­byterian Church of St. Paul in the sixties, by Edward D. Eaton, also are included in the volume.

The Birth of the North Land: Important Historical Highlights in the Development of the Great Northwest consists of fifty-two brief historical sketches by Professor E. G. Cheyney, originally published separately by the Northwest Paper Company for its " weekly mailing of paper samples" and now issued in book form (Cloquet, 1933). The early narratives deal with the fur trade, the great trading com­panies, exploration and individual explorers, and the Indians. A more purely local interest is introduced in an account of Fort Snelling (chapter 17), which is followed by sketches of Joseph R. Brown and Henry H. Sibley, of the beginnings of St. Paul and Minneapolis, of the organization of Minnesota as a territory and a state, of the de­velopment of milling, lumbering, and iron mining, and of many simi­lar topics. A brief account of the history of the Northwest Paper Company concludes the series. The booklet is an interesting example of the use of historical material for advertising purposes.

In accordance with a proclamation of Governor Olson designating May 20, 1934, as La Fayette Day, the centennial of the death of the French general was observed in various ways in Minnesota. A program commemorating the services of La Fayette was broad-

1934 GENERAL MINNESOTA ITEMS 359

cast under the auspices of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts over station WCCO on May 15, and on the same day Professor Lester B. Shippee of the University of Minnesota gave a talk over station WLB on " La Fayette's American Experiences." La Fayette pro­grams were presented by the La Fayette Club meeting at Lake Min­netonka on May 17, at the La Fayette School of Minneapolis on May 18, and by the Alliance Frangais of St. Paul on May 20. The Minneapolis Public Library issued a folder listing the books on its shelves relating to La Fayette. Special La Fayette exhibits were placed on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and in the museum of the Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

The Sibley centennial is being commemorated in the third annual pageant presented at Itasca State Park by the Minnesota conservation commission with the cooperation of the Northwestern Minnesota Historical Association. On July 1, 15, and 29, August 12 and 26, and September 2 performances depicting the development of the Min­nesota country and particularly Sibley's part in that development are being staged. Among the episodes included in the pageant are scenes representing Sibley's arrival at Mendota, his marriage, his election as a delegate to Congress, Ramsey's appointment as governor of Minne­sota, the treaty of Traverse des Sioux, Sibley's election as first gov­ernor of the state, incidents from the Civil and Sioux wars, and a banquet given in Sibley's honor after he had spent a hall century in Minnesota. The pageant is also being presented on August 21 and 22 at Fort Ridgely.

A tablet marking the northwestern boundary of the Fort Snell­ing reservation as it was surveyed in 1839 was placed on the shores of the Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis and dedicated on April 28 by the Colonial chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolu­tion. Among the speakers were Mrs. Earl G. Nunnally, regent of the chapter, who presented the marker to the city of Minneapolis; Mr. Willoughby M. Babcock, curator of the museum of the Minne­sota Historical Society; and Lieutenant Colonel V. E. Cutrer of Fort Snelling.

Some of the results of the work done in Minnesota by the His­toric American Buildings Survey, a CWA project directed by Mr. William G. Door of Minneapolis (see ante, p. 127), are enumerated

360 NEWS AND C O M M E N T SEPT.

in a feature article in the Minneapolis Journal lor April 15. The old towers at Fort Snelling, a tavern built at Faribault in 1836, the Garrard homes at Frontenac, a tower once used as a lighthouse at Du­luth, the Stevens and Godfrey houses in Minneapolis, the Mattocks School in St. Paul, the library at Taylor's Falls, and the custom­house at St. Paul are among the structures included in the survey and briefly described in this article. Pictures of several of the struc­tures illustrate the article.

Tha t two places on the Mississippi, one in Minnesota and one in Wisconsin, were known as Reed's Landing in the early fifties is pointed out by Captain Fred A. Bill in the Wabasha County Herald-Standard for June 21. The Minnesota settlement, according to Captain Bill, came to be known as Read's Landing; the Wisconsin community, Trempealeau.

" Recollections of Early University Days " by Elmer E. Adams of the class of 1884, who " as a student. Regent, and legislator, has been intimately associated with the University lor half a century " have been appearing in installments in the Minnesota Alumni Weekly since May 5. Intimate glimpses of campus life, personalities and procedures are presented by M r . Adams, who was persuaded to leave his home in Vermont and attend the University of Minnesota by an uncle residing in Minneapolis. " The University was glad to get students from all over the country and inducements were made to stu­dents to come to Minnesota by offering them free tuition and low expenses," writes Mr . Adams. Evidence that students could live for very little is given by the writer in his statement about campus board­ing houses. " The woman who operated the house received seventy-five cents a week from each student for doing the cooking, and each student paid one dollar a week lor food." He points out that " the only charge for attending the University at that time was an inci­dental fee of $5.00." Graduation, however, called for more funds, as the customary attire for a man was a Prince Albert suit. M r . Adams relates that he and a friend " decided that money was too scarce to buy a Prince Albert and we thought we might need a swal­low tail in after life, and so we bought full evening dress suits and appeared on the graduating platform for the exercises in the early forenoon."

1934 GENERAL M I N N E S O T A ITEMS 361

The eightieth anniversary of the founding of Hamline University at Red Wing in 1854 was celebrated by members of the faculty, stu­dents, and alumni on May 11. Articles about the history of the school appear in the St. Paul DaUy News for May 6, the St. Paul Dispatch for May 7, and the Minneapolis Journal lor May 11.

T h e graduation exercises which took place at St. Olaf College, Northfield, from June 2 to 5 commemorated the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the school. A number of historical exihibits were arranged in the " Old Main," the first permanent college building. The life and work of O. E. Rolvaag was illustrated in one exhibit, which included manuscripts of his writings, copies of his published books, and other items.

T h e early activities of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Minne­sota, which was organized at St. Paul in 1860, are reviewed by E. R. Bliefernicht as a background for his Brief History of Dr. Martin Luther College (1934. 77 p . ) . In 1883, the four-hundredth anni­versary of Luther's birth, members of the synod decided to establish a school as a " monument in honor of the great Reformer," and in the following year the college was opened at New Ulm. The story of its early years, of the changes in its program and curriculum, and of its growth is traced by the writer. Among the sources that he used in the preparation of the narrative are the reports of the Minnesota and Wisconsin synods, and minutes of the board of control and cata­logues of the school.

Some Letters Pertaining to the Proposed Minnesota Synod of the Lutheran church have been translated and edited by O. Fritiof Ander and published in pamphlet form (Rock Island, Illinois, 1933. 31 p . ) . Most of the letters were written to Eric Norelius by such men as W . A. Passavant, C. F . Heyer, and Erland Carlsson. According to the editor they " are illustrative of the tendency of the immigrant churches to divide into smaller groups as a result of sectionalism and individual differences among the immigrant church leaders."

A " Questionnaire on Parish History " has been prepared by the Catholic Historical Society of St. Paul and sent to the Catholic parish clergy of the archdiocese of St. Paul. It includes inquiries not only about the organization of the parish, the building of its church, its

362 NEWS AND COMMENT SEPT.

priests, its congregation, and the like, but about manuscript and printed historical records that it may have preserved.

Among the Minnesota churches that held anniversary celebrations during the spring and early summer was one that commemorated the completion of eighty years of service — the Elim Lutheran Church of Scandia on June 23 and 24. Seventy-fifth anniversaries were cele­brated by the Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church of Minneapolis on May 20 to 27, the Rosendale Lutheran Church on June 10, St. John's Lutheran Church of Arlington Township, Sibley County, on July 1, and the Evangelical Lutheran Immanuel Church of Court-land Township, Nicollet County, on July 1; sixty-fifth anniversaries, by the Lutheran Church of Long Lake Township, Watonwan Coun­ty, on May 5 and 6, and the Hanley Falls Lutheran Church on June 23 and 24; sixtieth anniversaries, by the First Covenant Church of St. Paul on May 16 to 22, St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church of St. Paul on May 20, the Midway Lutheran Church of Proctor on June 17, the Swedlanda Lutheran Church of Palmyra Township, Renville County, on June 24 to 26, and the Hamar Lu­theran Church on June 30 and July 1; fiftieth anniversaries, by the Beauford United Brethren Church on June 3, the Norwegian Lu­theran Church of St. Hilaire on June 17, the First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Winthrop on June 22 to 24, the Providence Lu­theran Church on June 22 to 24, the First St. John's Evangeli­cal Lutheran Church of Owatonna on June 24, and the Merriam Park Presbyterian Church of St. Paul from June 27 to July 1; twenty-fifth anniversaries, by the Union Congregational Church of Minnewashta from April 20 to 22, the First Lutheran Church of In­ternational Falls on June 16 and 17, the Bethany Lutheran Church of Loman on June 16 and 17, and Our Lady of the Lake CathoHc Church of Mound on July 8; and a twentieth anniversary, by the Christian Reformed Church of Hills on June 25.

A bronze tablet commemorating the services of Samuel and Gideon Pond, the Minnesota missionaries, has been placed on the walls of the Pond home at Bloomington by the Keewaydin chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. It was dedicated on June 16 during a celebration of the centennial of the brothers' arrival in Minnesota which was arranged by the Pond Family Association. Among the

1934 GENERAL MINNESOTA ITEMS 363

speakers was Mr. Willoughby M. Babcock of the Minnesota His­torical Society, who sketched the careers of the Pond brothers.

The attitude of the missionary toward the Indian is expressed by Bishop Whipple in a letter written to Chief White Dog in 1861, discovered recently by the Reverend John G. Larsen at the mission near Morton and published in the Morton Enterprise for April 5. " We bring you the message of the Great Spirit, because we love you and yours," writes Whipple. " We ask no price — we have no words to sell. We only ask that you hear what God says."

No less than fifteen women's clubs planned programs around the study of Minnesota and its history during the past year, according to the directory included in the Year Book of the Minnesota Federa­tion of Women's Clubs lor 1933-34. The names of these clubs lol-low: the Monday Study Club of Hayfield, the Tuesday Club of Lanesboro, the Pratt Progressive Club, the Weimer Utility Club of Heron Lake, the Monday Study Club of Slayton, the Delphian Past Presidents Club of Minneapolis, the Minerva Study Club of Minneapolis, the Ollapodrida Club of Minneapolis, the Ramblers Club of Minneapolis, the Searchlight Study Club of Minneapolis, the Woman's Club of Alexandria, the Woman's Improvement Club of Carlos, the Reading Circle of Clinton, the Woman's Club of Warren, and the Mound Woman's Club.

The activities of member clubs of the seventh district of the Min­nesota Federation of Women's Clubs during sixty years are surveyed in the Svuift County Monitor oi Benson lor May 4. An entire sec­tion of the paper is devoted to women's activities, the occasion being the thirty-second annual convention of the seventh district clubs, which was held at Benson on May 10 and 11. A brief resume of the his­tory of each of the seventy-nine clubs in the district is presented, starting with the Current News Club of Marshall, which was or­ganized in 1874 and joined the state federation in 1896. Accounts of earlier conventions held in Swift County also are included.

The story of the founding of the Lyngblomsten Home for the Aged in St. Paul is reviewed in a Souvenir Book Covering a Thirty Year Period of the Lyngblomsten Corporation's History {1933. 64 p.). It reveals that in 1903 the Lyngblomsten Society was organ-

3 6 4 NEWS AND C O M M E N T SEPT.

ized in Minneapolis with Mrs . Anna Quale Fergstad as president; that in time branches were organized at St. Paul, Madison, Duluth, Mankato, and other places; that in 1909 land lor the home was ac­quired; and that in 1912 the home was opened.

A Minnesota " old-time, pre-Volstead brewery " and the life for which it formed a center are described by Meridel LeSueur in a sketch entitled " Beer Town," which is included in Life in the United States: A Collection of Narratives of Contemporary American Life from First-hand Experience or Observation (New York, 1933).

The plot of Court House Square, a novel by Phil LaMar Ander­son, centers around the newspaper office of a small Minnesota com­munity called Plainview (Minneapolis, 1934. 238 p . ) . The story deals with the experiences of journalists who publish a small town weekly and with the social and political life of the modern middle-western community.

The career of a pioneer Minneapolis lawyer and philanthropist, Levi Merrick Stewart, is the subject of a multigraphed pamphlet recently issued by Maynard W . Quimby (25 p . ) . Sections are de­voted to the Stewart family, to Stewart's boyhood in Maine and his education at Dartmouth and Harvard, and to his life in Minneapolis, where he settled in 1856 and lived until his death in 1910.

LOCAL HISTORY ITEMS

A step toward the organization of an Anoka County historical so­ciety was taken on June 28, when the superintendent of the state historical society addressed a group of people interested in the project at Anoka. A committee was appointed to work out plans for a local historical society. This committee has since drafted a constitution and planned a program of local historical work.

T h e excavation of an ancient village site in Anoka County near Howard Lake, which is being directed by Dr . Albert E. Jenks of the department of archeology of the University of Minnesota, is described in the Anoka County Union and the Anoka Herald for June 27.

A brief history of Trinity Episcopal Church of Anoka appears in a program issued on the occasion of its seventy-fifth anniversary, which was celebrated on September 17 and 18, 1933.

1934 L O C A L H I S T O R Y ITEMS 365

Histories of Beltrami County townships continue to appear in the Bemidji Daily Pioneer and the Bemidji Sentinel (see ante, p. 132, 244) . Sketches of the following townships have appeared recently: Bemidji Township, organized in 1897, in the Pioneer for May 17 and the Sentinel for May 2 5 ; Grant Valley Township, organized in 1898, in the Pioneer for June 4 ; Buzzle Township, organized in 1900, in the Pioneer oi June 14 and the Sentinel oi June 29; Eckles Township, organized in 1899, in the Pioneer for June 22 and the Sentinel for June 29 ; and Liberty Township, organized in 1898, in the Pioneer for June 30. In each case the story of the organization of the township is presented, local officials are named, and the activi­ties of the township boards are recorded.

Winners of the essay contest conducted by the Blue Earth County Historical Society (see ante, p. 245) read the prize-winning essays at a meeting of the society at Mankato on April 2. T h e program also included brief addresses by W . H . Detamore, county superin­tendent of schools, and J . E. Anderson, superintendent of the Man­kato schools, both of whom recalled pioneer schools of the vicinity. The speaker at another meeting of the society, held on May 7, was M r . George M . Palmer, who presented his recollections of business life in Blue Earth County.

The passing of three-quarters of a century since the Dakota House, a pioneer New Ulm hotel, was opened is the occasion for the publica­tion of sketches of its history in the Brown County Journal for April 13 and the New Ulm Review for April 19. The hotel was estab­lished by Adolph Seiter in 1859, and it is interesting to note that it " has always been in the hands of some member of the family that founded it." According to the account in the Journal, " the key of the Dakota house has never been turned in the lock but once, and that was during the period of evacuation of the town " in the Sioux Outbreak of 1862. Its use as a hospital during the Indian war also is described.

Reminiscent letters written by M r . and Mrs . M . C. Robertson of Deputy, Indiana, former residents of Springfield, are published in the Brown County Journal of New Ulm for April 13. Mrs . Robert­son's letter is of special interest, for she tells of her experiences in helping to publish the Springfield Advance from 1890 to 1904.

366 NEWS AND COMMENT SEPT.

Events connected with the history of Stony Point on Leech Lake are recalled in an article in the Cass County Independent of Hacken­sack for June 1. Pike's visit to the British post on Leech Lake and Boutwell's mission lor the Pillagers are described in some detail. The announcement is made that an effort is under way to have the Stony Point district designated a national park.

An historical sketch of Sunset Lodge, a Masonic organization at Montevideo, by Sumner L. Moyer, appears in the Montevideo News for May 18 and the Montevideo American for May 25. The ac­count seems to be based largely upon the manuscript minutes of the lodge.

A pioneer log cabin constructed in Bowman Park at Moorhead was opened to the public for the first time on May 19. Most of the materials used in building the cabin were taken from a structure erected at Moorhead in 1859. Various articles illustrative of pio­neer Hfe have been loaned for display in the cabin.

A visit to the Crow Wing County historical museum at Brainerd is described in the Brainerd Daily Dispatch lor May 22. Special attention is given to the exhibits illustrative of Indian life and of pio­neer logging to be found in this museum. " If the teachers of our county would like to make history real to their students," concludes the writer, " they would do well to bring them to visit the historical museum." The Crow Wing County Historical Society and its mu­seum are given further publicity in a number of articles by the sec­retary, Mrs. J. G. Heald, which appear from time to time in the Brainerd Tribune. These sketches are devoted to descriptions of recent accessions in the museum and " life records " of Crow Wing County pioneers. In the issue for April 19, for example, are an account of a file of the Northern Tribune of Brainerd for 1884, re­cently presented by Mrs. Lily Ericson, and a sketch of Mrs. James S. Gardner, a pioneer of the seventies.

A statement issued by the Crow Wing County Historical Society advocating the reconstruction of old Fort Ripley " exactly as it was on its old site " is published in the Brainerd Daily Dispatch for June 26. Although the site of Fort Ripley is in Morrison County, the Crow Wing County society offers to cooperate with other local his­torical societies in the restoration of the old fort.

1934 LOCAL HISTORY ITEMS 367

T h e seventy-fifth anniversary of the founding of the Staples School in district number 5, Mendota Township, Dakota County, was cele­brated by the alumni and present pupils on May 5. T h e history of the school was reviewed by Mrs. George H . Staples. I t is also the subject of an article in the West St. Paul Booster and Dakota County Globe for May 4.

A detailed narrative entitled " Pioneer Days in Vernon Town­ship " by George Gilbertson has been appearing in installments in the Hayfield Herald since March 15. The material presented is largely of a reminiscent nature, since the writer and his family settled in Vernon Township in 1868. Many details of frontier life in Dodge County are described — the muddy roads encountered by the Gilbert-sons upon their arrival, the crude frontier cabin, frontier doctors, the water supply, bams and their construction, the care of cattle, bliz­zards, cyclones, Christmas celebrations, food and its preparation, early schools, clothing, and the like.

Professor Edward W . Schmidt of St. Olaf College, Northfield, has presented a large collection of archeological objects which he as­sembled in the vicinity of Red Wing to the Goodhue County His­torical Society. The collection is a valuable addition to the society's museum.

T h e days when there were " sixteen trains a day through Mound, thousands of commuters going into the Twin Cities by train " are recalled in an article in the Minnetonka Pilot of Mound for June 7 which calls attention to the services of James Woolnough, a conductor on the Minnetonka line.

The Life Story of John Tuininga, the Second, related by his daughter, Anna Tuininga Brovni, has been published as a four-page leaflet. It records the adventures of a Dutch family that emigrated in 1851 and settled on a farm in Houston County.

A History of the Spring Grove Church Organizations published in 1933 (71 p.) contains sketches by various authors of eight women's societies connected with Trinity Lutheran Church of Spring Grove, of the church auxiliary, and of its parochial school. Accounts of six ladies' aid societies, some of which were organized in the eighties, of a missionary federation, and of a Dorcas society are included.

368 NEWS AND COMMENT SEPT.

The " educational progress " made at Deer River since the early nineties, when a crude log building served as a schoolhouse, is the sub­ject of an article in the Deer River News for May 31. Pictures ol the early school and of the present village school accompany the article.

The " Diamond Jubilee " of the organization of Kanabec County was the occasion for a three-day celebration at Mora from July 2 to 4. Historical pageants presented by members of local 4-H clubs, exhibits of pioneer objects, a special edition of the Kanabec County Times on July 28, a meeting of the Kanabec County Historical So­ciety, and an address by Dr. Theodore C. Blegen, superintendent of the Minnesota Historical Society, were features of the celebration. Dr. Blegen spoke on the historical backgrounds of the county on July 3. The issue of the Times commemorated both the county's jubilee and the " golden anniversary " of the founding of the paper. A newspaper history of Mora, with reminiscent articles by two for­mer editors, R. W. Safford and R. M. Pope, is included. Among the more general articles in the issue are an outline of the historical backgrounds of the region; an account of the organization of the county on June 10, 1859, with an explanarion of the origin of the name, and stories of the first county election and ol the activities of county officials; and a review of the founding of Mora, the county seat, in 1882. Since the great convocation of Indians that Radisson and Groseilliers attended in 1660 is supposed to have taken place near Knife Lake in Kanabec County, the exploits ol these explorers are the subject of a separate article. Considerable space is given to logging operations in the Snake River district, an industry ol pri­mary importance in the pioneer history of the county. Pictures of logging camps, of a log jam, and of " wannagans " or house boats that were used to carry provisions during driving operations are of special interest. Since no history of Kanabec County has been pub­lished, this issue of the Times forms a valuable source for the student of the history of the district.

A meeting held at Marshall on June 14 resulted in the organiza­tion of the Lyon County Historical Society. Mr. Willoughby M. Babcock, curator of the state historical society's museum, was the speaker. The loUovring officers were elected for the new organiza­tion: A. P. Rose of Marshall, president; F. A. Timm of Balaton, vice president; and W. C. Peterson of Marshall, secretary-treasurer.

1934 LOCAL HISTORY ITEMS 369

About seven thousand people attended a picnic and pageant ar­ranged by the Marshall County Historical Society at the Old Mill picnic grounds in Foldahl Township on June 17. T h e story of the early history and settlement of the county was reviewed in the pageant, which was arranged and directed by Mrs. Ella K. Trost of Warren. An interesting loan exhibit ol pioneer objects was placed on display in connection with the picnic.

A total of 117 essays were submitted by high-school students in the local history essay contest sponsored by the Marshall County Histori­cal Society (see ante, p. 249) . The first prize was awarded to Mavis Gates of Stephen for an essay on " Pioneer Days " ; the sec­ond, to Verna E. Nelson of Strandquist for an account of " Wha t Happened in Nelson Park between the Years of 1878 and 1895 " ; and the third, to Edith Johnson ol Warren for a paper on " Pioneer Days."

Meetings of the Murray County Historical Society were held at Slayton on April 2 and May 7. At the latter meeting Dr. H . M . Workman of Tracy spoke on the Lake Shetek massacre, and Mrs. S. Barrows of Chandler recalled pioneer experiences in the western sec­tion of the county.

The museum of the Otter Tail County Historical Society, which is located in the basement of the courthouse at Fergus Falls, was opened to the public on May 26. The space occupied by the mu­seum was made available by the county commissioners, and it was prepared for the use of the society by C W A workers. About a thousand visitors viewed the exhibits on the day that the museum opened, according to a report in the Fergus Falls Daily Journal for May 28, which includes descriptions of some of the displays.

An announcement that a park known as the Pipestone National Shrine has been established at the pipestone quarry in southwestern Minnesota is made in the Pipestone County Star for May 15. A road to the quarry was built as a C W A project.

Under the general title of " History of the Northwest," Win V. Working is publishing in the Crookston Daily Times a series of brief sketches relating to the history of the Red River Valley, Polk County, and Crookston. The early articles, which deal with geology, arche-

370 NEWS AND COMMENT SEPT.

ology, the Indians, the fur trade, and exploration, are arranged roughly in chronological order. They seem to indicate that the author is attempting to carry out the promise made in the introduc­tion to his opening article, published on April 17: " t o outline the history of Polk County, and adjacent areas clearly and accurately." But as the narrative progresses, the writer seems to forget this prom­ise. From a description of the Red River brigades and ox-cart trans­portation over the Red River trails (April 28), he goes back to explorers, such as Pike, Long, and Beltrami (April 30); after pub­lishing a whole group of articles on the development of railroads in the Red River country (May 28 to June 5), he turns to stagecoach transportation in the valley (Jime 6). Though much of the ma­terial presented is quoted from other sources, some valuable and inac­cessible items are included; for example, the list of residents of Red River Junction that appears in the census for 1860 is published on May 22. In some ol the articles that follow sketches of a few of these pioneers are presented — George W. Northrup, Samuel J. Painter, and Charles Cavileer.

" A Brief History of the Citizens Band of Fairfax " by Frank Hopkins, who served as bandmaster for more than thirty years, ap­pears in the Fairfax Standard for April 26. The part played by this organization in the social and cultural development of the community is brought out by the writer.

The geology of Rice County was discussed by Dr. Laurence M. Gould of Carleton College and the Indian mounds and archeology ol the district were described by Professor Edward W. Schmidt of St. Olaf College at the spring meeting of the Rice County Historical Society, which was held at Northfield on April 23.

The story of the " Eastern Boundary of St. Louis County " is out­lined in the Two Harbors Chronicle for April 19. Changes in this boundary, which is also the western border of Lake County; town sites in the vicinity, such as Buchanan and Montezuma, that existed for a brief period and failed to develop into permanent communities; and geographic and economic leatures of the region are described.

A series of local historical sketches by J. E. Townsend in the Belle Plaine Herald includes several published in May and June in which

1934 LOCAL HISTORY ITEMS 371

the writer presents his recollections of the Indians of the vicinity and of the effect of the Sioux W a r . He notes that in the hotel which was run by his father, during the outbreak " the largest crowds . . . would be after sundown, when the refugees would arrive in lots of two to ten or more, all fatigued and hungry." A " History of School District No. 37 " by Allen Taylor, read on June 16 at the celebration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the district, in Belle Plaine Town­ship, appears in the Herald for June 21. The author used the manu­script minutes of the school board of the sixties in the preparation of his account, which is published also in the Jordan Independent for June 21.

Once prosperous Todd County communities that are no longer to be found on a map of the region are described by O. B. DeLaurier in a series ol articles entitled " Forgotten Post Offices," the first of which appears in the Long Prairie Leader for May 3. An article published on January 18 about Daylight, a post office established in Little Sauk Township in 1876, aroused such widespread comment and interest that M r . DeLaurier was invited to prepare a series of historical sketches about the county's forgotten communities. In each article he describes the founding of a settlement, names some of the early residents, tells about industrial, commercial, educational, and other developments, and gives some reasons for its decline. The sub­jects of the articles and the dates of publication follow: Bear Head, May 3 ; Batavia, May 10; Oak Hill, May 17; Clotho, May 24; Hartford, May 3 1 ; Burnhamville-Pillsbury, June 7; and Drywood, June 14.

Recollections of " Early Days in Todd County " by A. J. Gibson of Long Prairie, a pioneer of 1857, appear in installments in the Long Prairie Leader from March 29 to April 26. A journey Irom Kingston, Ontario, to Little Falls, which was made largely by stage­coach in 1856; a winter spent in the frontier lumber town; the re­moval to Long Prairie in the following year; the old Winnebago agency and its pioneer inhabitants; the excitement that accompanied the Sioux Outbreak; and many other incidents and features connected with pioneer life in Todd County are recalled by the author.

At a meeting held at Lake City on April 15 the Lake Pepin Valley Historical Society was organized. M r . G. M . Dwelle was elected

372 NEWS AND C O M M E N T SEPT.

president; Mrs . George Selover, vice president; Mr . W . H . Pletsch, secretary; M r . M . L. Erickson, treasurer; and Miss Jennie Baker, corresponding secretary. Four officers of the Goodhue County His­torical Society attended a meeting of the new society at Lake City on June 11, and M r . C. A. Rasmussen and Dr . M . W . Smith ad­dressed the gathering.

Historical sketches ol two pioneer Lake City business institu­t ions— the Lake City Bank and Trus t Company and the Jewell Nursery — appear in the Wabasha County Leader for April 5. The bank was established in 1867 by C. W . Hackett and the nursery in the following year by Phineas A. Jewell and Joseph M . Underwood. I t is interesting to note that the " early demand for hardy types of fruit and forestation planting material " throughout the upper Mis­sissippi Valley led to the lounding of the nursery on Lake Pepin.

About seventy-five people attended an enthusiastic meeting at Still­water on April 11 which resulted in the formation of the Washington County Historical Society. Dr . Theodore C. Blegen, superintendent of the state society, was the principal speaker. Mr . E. E. Bloom­quist, county superintendent of schools, was named president; Mrs. W . C. Masterman, vice president; Miss Gertrude Glennon, second vice president; Mrs . Robert Harrigan, secretary; and Miss Anne Connors, treasurer. The first regular meeting of the society was held on May 14, when the Reverend A. C. Ernst spoke on " Objec­tives lor the Immediate Future."

Our Town in the Early Days: A History of Breckenridge, a paper prepared by Mrs. L. R. Jones for presentation before the Woman's Study Club of Breckenridge, has been issued in multi­graphed form as a pamphlet. She describes the establishment of the town site in 1857, the destruction of the settlement during the Sioux War , and its rebuilding alter the coming of the railroad in the early seventies.

A pageant representing the early history ol the Whitewater Valley and of Winona County was presented by members of the Winona County 4-H Leaders Club at Whitewater State Park on May 26. A collection of objects illustrative of pioneer life collected in the vicinity was exhibited on the day of the pageant.

1934 LOCAL HISTORY ITEMS 373

" A Short History of the Clarkfield Fire Department," which was organized in March, 1904, appears in the Clarkfield Advocate for June 21. The growth of the department, the purchase of improved equipment, and the extension of its field of service are described.

A brief history of Zion Lutheran Church of Minneapolis was pub­lished in pamphlet form (16 p.) to mark the fiftieth anniversary of its founding, which was celebrated by members of the congregation on February 11.

The fiftieth anniversary of the Merriam Park Presbyterian Church of St. Paul, which was celebrated from June 27 to July 1, was the occasion lor the publication of a booklet about the history ol the church (40 p.). The founding and early years ol the church are recalled by C. A. Magnuson, a charter member; E. D. Thomas de­scribes the " new church " erected in 1912-14; and brief accounts of the Sunday school and of various church organizations are included.

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